According to the HDBaseT press release, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Valens Semiconductor are working to kill HDMI. They are trying to replace it with a new standard which will transport the video and audio signals through an ethernet cable. The new stardard will be called HDBaseT.

In the past when industry groups create new standards for audio and video delivery they create a proprietary cable to go with it, but with HDBaseT any Cat 5e/6 cable that you might have laying around will get the job done. "The cornerstone of HDBaseT technology is 5Play™, an unrivaled feature-set that converges full uncompressed HD video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, high power over cable and various control signals through a single 100m/328ft CAT5e/6 LAN cable. HDBaseT has the bandwidth to support the highest video resolutions such as full HD 1080p as well as 3D and 2Kx4K formats. HDBaseT is the first to provide all-in-one connectivity, making it possible for a single-connector TV to receive power, video/audio, Internet and control signals from the same cable."

The goal of the technology is to allow all of your devices to be networked together which will allow communication and media sharing throughout the entire house. The technology is expected to be available by the second half of 2011. Companies will be able to license the technology this year which means we should see some of devices show up at CES 2011 in January.